Kankakee Valley Post, Volume 19, Number 17, DeMotte, Jasper County, 25 March 1949 — NIPS COMPANY INSTALLS RADIO STATION AT CROWN POINT TO SPEED WORK [ARTICLE]

NIPS COMPANY INSTALLS RADIO STATION AT CROWN POINT TO SPEED WORK

To assure fast, dependable, and efficient communications during emergencies when other communications are disrupted.-and to, provide the residential, commercial, and industrial customers with the best possible service at all times, the Northern Indiana Public Service Company has placed in operation an emergency radio communication system, Harley W. Jenson, district manager of the company announced today. The radio station in Crown Point is the eleventh station of the company’s two-way radio transmitting and receiving stations already in operation. Twelve of the ’ company’s trucks here in Crown Point are equipped with 1 portable-mobile two-way common-, ication units, making a total of; i more than one hundred of the I | trucks throughout the territory that are now radio equipped. When the Northern Indiana Public Service Company’s radio system is complete, more than two hundred trucks and cars will be equipped with port-able-mobile two-way comhninication units and there will be eighteen two-way transmitting and receiving stations located throughout northern Indiana as a part of the radio network. All of the transmitting equipment is of the FM type which provides maximum transmition range and clarity. The network broadcast band is 39.86 megacycles which is irt the medium high frequency classification and does not interfere with commercial broadcasting stations. All of the company’s stations have portablemobile units operated on the same wave length and it is possible for service trucks to communicate with each other as well as the central stations. The Northern Indiana Public Service Company’s radio network covers the entire northern part of the state of Indiana and permits communication across the state to speed service during emergencies. Six years ago, the Northern Indiana Public Service Company installed a radio transmission station in Goshen as an experimental unit together with portable-mobile units in several service trucks. This equipment has been so helpful in locating trouble and speeding the restoration of service to customers that it is now being extended to cover the entire territory served by the ! company--. The Crown Point station, call letter KSA22B, has a capacity of 50 watts and a range of approximately 50 miles. This is suffic-

ient power to reach any truck operating in the Crown Point District. The antenna for the Crown Point station is located on the site of the proposed service headquarters at the east edge of town. It is 80 feet high and is painted and lighted in accordance with the regulations of the Civil Aeronautics Board. Regulations covering the use of the radio network system limit it to essential communications arising from emergencies, and to emergency transmission from one point to another between which normal communication facilities do not exist, are

not usable, or are temporarily disrupted or inadequate. Mr. Jen son stated thaL the coni . 1 struction of the radio station hefe and. installation of the port-able-mobile units in service trucks was in keeping with the progressive management policy of the company in utilizing every modern method to bring its customers the finest possible service. £ Sharlee Konovsky, daughter of Mr. and M rs. John Konovsky celebrated her seventh birthday with a party for her little friends last Saturday.